Santander launches deepfake campaign to promote AI scam awareness

While online scams are advancing at an alarming rate, Santander has launched an innovative campaign to educate the public about the risks of deepfake technology. By creating a series of deepfake videos, the bank aims to highlight the potential risks and raise awareness about the importance of verifying information to protect oneself from online fraud.

Santander’s campaign features deepfake videos of its fraud lead, Chris Ainsley, and influencer Timi Merriman-Johnson, also known as @mrmoneyjar. These videos are strategically placed on social media platforms to reach a broad audience.

In one video, Ainsley appears to explain the tell-tale signs of a deepfake, such as blurring around the mouth and unnatural light reflections on glasses. He emphasises, “For scammers, it is a powerful tool they can use to steal your money.”

He goes on to list the tell-tale signs of a potential deepfake, saying: “Look for blurring around the mouth. The person might blink less frequently than usual.

“If they are wearing glasses, the light reflections might not look right. The background may not feel natural. If something looks strange, trust your instincts.”

The video shows Mr Ainsley saying HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and banks are often impersonated.

He adds: “I’ve even been impersonated myself. This video is just the latest example. As you might have guessed, this isn’t me, this is a deepfake, created to warn you about deepfakes.”

The initiative is timely, given that an Opinium survey commissioned by Santander revealed that over half (53%) of the respondents either had not heard of the term “deepfake” or misunderstood its meaning. Only 17% felt confident they could identify a deepfake video. This lack of awareness underscores the necessity of Santander’s educational efforts.

The growing threat of deepfake scams

Deepfakes, which are videos, sounds, or images of real people digitally manipulated through artificial intelligence (AI), pose a significant threat as they can convincingly misrepresent individuals or organisations.

Santander warns that with the widespread availability of deepfake generators and software, fraudsters can easily create deceptive content using authentic footage or audio found online.

Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander, stated, “Generative AI is developing at breakneck speed, and we know it’s when rather than if we start to see an influx of scams with deepfakes lurking behind them.”

He added that fraudsters already flood social media with fake investment opportunities and bogus love interests, and deepfakes will likely make these scams even more convincing.

The video depicting Mr Merriman-Johnson meanwhile purports to offer an “incredible investment opportunity”.

The real Mr Merriman-Johnson then says: “That definitely wasn’t me. That was a deepfake video,” adding that it is “something we’re all likely to see more of in the future”.

Tips to spot and avoid deepfake scams

To help consumers protect themselves, Santander offers several tips to spot deepfakes:

1. Look for imperfections: Most deepfakes are still imperfect. Whether there is blurring around the mouth, less blinking than normal, or odd reflections – look out for the giveaways.
2. Use common sense: If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Ask yourself the same common-sense questions you do now. Is this too good to be true? If this is real, why is everyone not doing this? If this is legitimate, why are they asking me lie to my family or my bank?
3. Recognise scam types: Be aware of the types of scams deepfakes are likely to be used for. Deepfakes are likely to be used by criminals to scam people through investment scams and impersonation fraud, such as romance scams. If you know the tell-tale signs of these scams, you will know how to spot them – even if a deepfake has been used.

Timi Merriman-Johnson advises, “If you are ever in doubt as to whether a company or individual is legitimate, you can always search for them on the Financial Conduct Authority Register.”

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